Ghost vs Microweber
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted content management systems options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Ghost | Microweber |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 79 · Good |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | HTML |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 55,413 | ★ 3,439 |
| First released | 2013 | 2013 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Substack, Medium | WordPress, Wix |
What are Ghost and Microweber?
Ghost
Ghost is a powerful open-source publishing platform built on Node.js, designed for professional bloggers, publications, and creators. It includes native membership, subscription, and email newsletter features alongside a fast, modern editor.
- Built-in membership and paid subscriptions
- Native email newsletters
- Fast modern editor
- SEO-optimized by default
Microweber
Microweber is an open-source drag-and-drop website builder and content management system that includes blogging and e-commerce features. It uses a live editing interface so content can be arranged visually on the page.
- Live drag-and-drop editing
- Built-in online store
- Blogging module
- Template marketplace
Ghost vs Microweber: key differences
Ghost is written in TypeScript, while Microweber is built with HTML. Microweber is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Ghost. Ghost has the considerably larger community, at 55,413 GitHub stars versus 3,439.
Why pick each one
Choose Ghost if…
- Excellent for newsletters and memberships
- Clean, fast publishing experience
Watch out for
- Plugin ecosystem smaller than WordPress
- MySQL recommended for production
Choose Microweber if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in HTML
Frequently asked questions
Is Ghost or Microweber better?
Neither is universally better. Ghost has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Ghost and Microweber free and open-source?
Yes. Ghost is licensed under MIT and Microweber under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ghost and Microweber with Docker?
Ghost: yes. Microweber: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Ghost or Microweber?
Microweber has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Ghost. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.